IBM unveils 7-nanometer node chips
A partnership with Samsung, GlobalFoundries and the state of New York has helped IBM achieve a major advance in semiconductor technology. Today the company said that it has produced working chips using a 7-nanometer node process.
Smaller process nodes can dramatically reduce both cost and power consumption. And 7nm is much smaller than anything the industry has seen to date. For example, Qualcomm’s highest-end mobile processor, the Snapdragon 810, is manufactured using a 20nm process.
Intel founder Gordon Moore first predicted that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double each year, and his forecast proved accurate for decades, largely thanks to Intel’s innovation. But Intel has yet to announce anything at 7nm. The chip giant is currently shipping chips made using a 14nm process, and is expected to move to 10nm in the near future.
IBM’s new chips are not shipping yet. They will not be made by IBM, but instead by GlobalFoundries, one of IBM’s partners in the research project that produced the new chips. IBM sold its chipmaking operations to GlobalFoundries in a deal that closed last week.
Once its new technology is ready for production, IBM will have the option of licensing it to companies that design chips for servers, mobile devices and wearables. Since servers and related software remain core businesses for IBM, it is clear that the company anticipates a need for smaller, faster processors in servers as more industries rely on cloud computing.
The technology behind IBM’s breakthrough includes a silicon-germanium alloy used for channel transistors and extreme ultraviolet light used to create patterns in the material. One unknown is whether the use of extreme ultraviolet light, which requires longer exposure times, will slow down the manufacturing process.
Image courtesy of IBM
